Divine Freaks
Overview The Divine Freaks are a variant sect of Freakshow that are unique to the Lakeside view sector of Paragon City. Unlike other Freakshow groups, these specialize in arcane upgrades and dealings, finding premium artifacts and incorporating them to their person. They are always trying to convert anyone into their pseudo-religion to bolster their ranks. They can be encountered in the northwest part of the sector nearest Boomtown. Background The Freakshow has always been known for the zeal when pursuing new heights of excitement, stimulation and lifestyle. That is the foundation of the Freakshow. They are the radicals that will explore every possible venture and experiment with every possible outlet. It worked for Calystix, (albeit for a short time) and Tafari has perfected the method by not having the tar beaten out of him, but rather beat the tar out of those sent to stop him instead. Hence, a new faction of the Freakshow has risen to rival the other four. If this new faction is not stopped, Upstart, Clamor, Bile and even the mighty Dreck may very well have to accept a new leader into their ranks. A self-proclaimed God going by the name of Tafari, with the power and the followers to back his claim. Many of the Freakshow who worship Tafari have fanatically studied and practiced manipulation of energy fields. So much so that some of them have even managed to harness a small spark of their supposed God’s divine power, granting them literal deific might to back them. In addition, they are fervent in their desire to aquire all arcane and magical artifacts of deific nature, such as the Crown of Enos, the Staff of Isis etcetera. Along the way, they have acquired several lesser yet still potent artifacts, and continue to do so every day. This new Freakshow faction utilizes magic, technology, and just a little bit of Divine backing to do as they please. As for Tafari himself, little information is available on him. All that is known is that the main focus of his self-made religion is to “Be Awesome.” Needless to say, the this central message appeals to most, if not all Freakshow. Whether or not Tafari’s claim to godhood is legitimate or not remains to be seen, but from what little has been learned of him, he is undoubtedly a being of great power. There are several “guidelines” in the religion that dictate how one can attain a state of “Total Shock and Awe,” in which followers become the epitome of Awesomeness. These guidelines do not require any of its followers to actually adhere to them unless they want to, and indeed the entire religion is rather lax and laid back. However, the majority of the new faction is so enthralled by the central doctrine that they usually try to follow its guidelines whenever it is reasonable to do so. As a result, the “Divine Freaks” as they have been called are a fair deal less aggressive than the other factions. Their apparent MO is one of Shock, Awe, Bluntness and Unnecessary amounts of overkill. They won’t bother to act out unless they can act out in one huge explosion of, for lack of a better term, “Awesome.” So unless they are planning for something big, they are less likely to randomly cause mayhem like other factions of the Freakshow. The vast majority of Tafari’s followers are fresh recruits, and he apparently gets more and more of them every day. They are relatively normal members of the Freakshow who have been drawn to the allure of wielding god-like power as well as the imagery as being seen as the very essence of things that are held in Awe. As a result, most of them are nearly identical to their counterparts in other factions, with some exceptions. Villain Types ' Minions *'Freak Minion: The Freak Minions are the freshest of the fresh, and aside from their Excelsior feeders, the only equipment they wield are standard melee weapons and modern firearms. Like most other Freaks, they can heal themselves and even get back up where anybody else would go down and stay down. *'Attuned Freak': These Freaks have gotten ahold of some magical weapons, from enchanted swords, axes and maces to wands, staffs and tomes. Some of them have even gone so far to incorporate acquired artifacts into their mechanical appendages. They present the same threat as any normal Freak Enforcer, but with the added threat of a variety of offense magic capabilities. *'Divine Metal Freak': With both their arms replaced by oversized mechanical weapons, the Metal Swiper and Metal Smasher Freaks have always been a grave threat. Now that their appendages have been infused with trace amounts of Divine energy, the threat they pose has only grown in size. Their attacks now all deliver energy-typed damage, and their previous weakness to energy due to outdated cybernetic hardware has been canceled out by the most potent of energies coursing through their frames. Lieutenants *'Divine Sparker': These Juicer and Tesla Freaks have gone a step further than shooting their brains and nerves with an endless stream of electricity. Now they’re shooting their brains and nerves with an endless stream of self-generated divine energy. While the overall amount of the stuff they can generate is much smaller than the amount of electricity they could normally produce, its potency more than makes up for the loss. Divine Sparker Freaks have such fine control over their energy attacks that they can shape and alter them in any way they want. Bolts of divine energy can go around corners, or even through obstacles to hit their targets due to their state. *'Attuned Champion': The Champions of the Freakshow have earned their metal from numerous battles. They have been around long enough to get their hands on major artifacts, as well as a gift from their supposed god in the form of a small infusion of Divine energy. Using all of this to augment their strength and energy-output, some of their attacks have become explosive on a small scale whenever they connect. Their strategy is one of overwhelming force. *'The Meat Doctors': These former mad disciples of the good Dr. Vahzilok don’t necessarily care very much about any new rave the Freakshow have found. As long as they can hang around, with ready access to both cybernetics and body parts, they are happy to serve. As a prerequisite of hanging with the Divine Freaks, most of them now have intimate understanding of how to biologically incorporate artifacts, relics and other magical forces, but are otherwise unchanged. Bosses *'Deific Tank': The Freak Tanks, being more metal and machine than man, benefited the most from infusions of Divine energy to augment their cybernetic gear. As a result, they naturally got better, higher-quality infusions of the stuff than their lesser brethren. Their overall battle tactic hasn’t changed much, they still charge in and just crush and maim everything they see. But now, their weaponry has been modified for the sole purpose of harnessing and directing Divine energy. With both blasts and strikes that shake the Earth, the majority of their attacks are explosive on a moderate scale. Any Freak Tank imbued with Divine energy should be approached with caution. *'Noise Tank': The Noise Tanks themselves don’t have many, if any Divine or magical alterations at all. In truth, many Freakshow already idolize them so much that just being a Noise Tank is enough to cement a place for them in any of the Freakshow factions. Although they are mostly encountered at Freakshow raves and parties, they can occasionally be seen hanging out with other Freaks in a more relaxed atmosphere. Elite Bosses/Archvillains *'The Rocket Freak': Long before Tafari showd up, the Rocket Freak was already obsessed with being the most awesome thing in the multiverse. Tafari’s appearance and his new faction has only further excited him and made him all the more determined. The Rocket Freak wears a modified Sky-Raider jet-pack, and has had both of his arms replaced with omni-directional miniguns that can fire a variety of rounds, from energy bolts to electromagnetic rails. He also has the standard nervous-system linkup that Freak Sparkers have, making him a flying, flashy trigger-happy demon thing of death that strikes from above. His presence alone is enough to ensure that a fight will inevitably go down, and he is an opponent that believes quite heavily in the term, “Shock and Awe.” He hits hard, and he hits big.